Good Reasons Not to Retreat

31 Jul, 2007

Good Reasons Not to Retreat

Posted by: Rob Bluey In: Capitol Hill| Foreign Affairs

Yesterday’s op-ed in the New York Times by Michael O‚ÄôHanlon and Kenneth Pollack, scholars at the liberal Brookings Institution, deserves another link today. I also want to share another great piece by my colleague Steven Groves, who explains why it’s in America’s interest to leave a secure and stable Iraq.

The United States has a responsibility to leave an Iraq that is in better condition than it was in when Saddam’s regime was toppled. Iraqis must be given a chance to build a stable, secure nation that respects its own citizens and does not threaten its neighbors. Only a free and democratic Iraq will become a long-term military ally and economic partner for the United States.

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R.-Okla.) has also written on this blog about the consequences of retreating from the War on Terror. He recored this video for YouTube to share his views.

1 Response to "Good Reasons Not to Retreat"

1 | fredko

July 31st, 2007 at 1:08 pm

I hope they are right. This would seem to have substantial impact apparently coming from Brookings. But I am not familiar with the authors or their previous views.
From what I understand we are successful in Anbar because the Sunni tribal leaders are helping us fight “Al Q in Iraq”. They don’t want them there either. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”. This is to the good – AQ in Iraq does not have a Taliband to provide aid and comfort. This is why I don’t see Iraq as being the “central front in the War on Terror”. AQ did not exist in Iraq before the invasion and I don’t believe the Sunnis, Shia or Kurds would let them stay. Iraq is not Afghanistan in my view.
What happens when the bad guys are run out of Anbar? Will the Sunnis turn on us because we “support” the Shia? It seems to me we will still be in the middle of a civil war diverting resources – diplomatic, ideological, as well as military – from the “central front” which is Afghan(militarily) and the Muslim world as a whole otherwise. How to extricate ourselves from the mess in Iraq so we can effectively deal with terrorism remains the central question. To me a diplomatic effort involving ALL interested parties is sorely needed but is woefully lacking.
Major mistake #1 – invasion. Major mistake #2 – diplomatic inability (or will). It surely looks like the commander-in-chief just wants to hand this off to the next one and has no conscience about blood or treasure.

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